10 August 2009

K is for Kojak


"Who loves ya, baby?" - Telly Savalas played the bald New York cop Theo Kojak during the late seventies, and was such a regular on TV schedules that his surname became a nickname for bald men the length and breadth of the country. Although the character smoked heavily in early shows, this was at the start of the modern anti-smoking sentiment and the writers soon had Kojak quit smoking, and his use of lollipops as a substitute led to a trademark of the character. The show lasted for five seasons and a series of TV movies. A recent attempt to relaunch the character, played by Ving Rhames, only lasted one season.

No comments: